Heat Takes Toll on Drivers at COTA and St. Pete Icon Sportswire - Getty ImagesDeb WilliamsMon, March 2, 2026 at 4:03 AM UTC·5 min readWith temperatures in the mid-80s in Austin, Texas, and the high 70s in St. Petersburg, Florida, NASCAR drivers faced their first hot races this season, and the heat adversely affected a few competitors in the Cup and Craftsman Truck series.
On Sunday at Circuit of the Americas, several Cup drivers, including Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, and A.J. Allmendinger reported their cool shirts stopped working during the 95-lap race on the 20-turn, 2.4-mile course. Alex Bowman also had health issues.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLarson, who finished sixth, attributed his ability to make it through the event to the fluids he had in his body.
“I started feeling progressively better as the race went on with just dumping water on me, putting ice on my chest and drinking a lot of fluids,” Larson said. “I felt good there at the end but was hot early in the race. I was getting nervous.”
After Allmendinger’s ninth-place finish, the Kaulig Racing driver laid down beside his car while medical personnel attended to him. Eventually, he was removed from pit road on a gurney. Kaulig Racing posted on its X (Twitter) account that Allmendinger was evaluated and released from the infield care center.
Bowman pulled into the garage with slightly more than 20 laps remaining because he was too ill to finish the race. Since Toyota driver Chase Briscoe was the only competitor out of the race, Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports team turned to Fox Sports for help. NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Myatt Snider was spotting for Fox pit road reporter Jamie Little. The Hendrick team asked Little if they could have Snider as Bowman’s relief driver. She agreed and Snider finished 36th in the 37-car field, six laps off the pace.
Myatt Snider behind the wheel of Alex Bowman’s #48 Chevrolet, driving in relief. James Gilbert - Getty Images“It was an unexpected situation,” Jeff Andrews, Hendrick Motorsports president and general manager, said. “Alex wasn’t feeling well enough to continue, so we made the call to get him out of the car. It came on suddenly. He was seen in the care center and received fluids, but we don’t have anything further to share at this time. We’re grateful to Myatt for stepping in on such short notice.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter Saturday’s NASCAR Truck race in Florida, Niece Motorsports driver Tyler Reif was transported to an area medical facility where he was treated for heat exhaustion. Reif, who finished 16th to winner Layne Riggs, was later released.
Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, who served as Dario Franchitti’s crew chief in the truck race, tended to his driver after the event. After finishing 27th in his first NASCAR race since 2008, Franchitti went over and sat down beside his pit box while Johnson poured cold water on him and provided him with cold towels.
Pit Strategy Pays Dividends for Bell
Christopher Bell, who was last year’s race winner at Circuit of the Americas, salvaged a top-five finish in this year’s event thanks to aggressive pit strategy by crew chief Adam Stevens.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUnlike the majority of the competitors who pitted only once in the final 50 laps, Bell pitted twice for fresh tires. His second stop came during the third caution period that occurred with 20 laps remaining.
Christopher Bell. Logan Riely - Getty Images“Super thankful that Adam Stevens… got us on offense, got me a tire advantage over the field,” Bell said after finishing third to winner Tyler Reddick. “We were just super aggressive on strategy, jumping the Stages, keeping our track position the best that we could. We gambled making an extra pit stop there in the third Stage and it got us a good finish out of it, but clearly, I wasn’t going to run with the top guys. All race long whenever I was on equal tires with guys I was falling backwards.
Blaney Fades In Closing Laps
Throughout most of the DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix, Ryan Blaney dogged eventual winner Tyler Reddick on the 20-turn, 2.4-mile Circuit of the Americas. He even led the second most laps, setting the pace for 11 of the 95 circuits. The only driver who led more laps than Blaney was Reddick.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, when it came to the final 15 laps, Blaney’s Ford faded and the Team Penske driver eventually had to settle for eighth.
Tyler Reddick leading Shane van Gisbergen and Ryan Blaney. Icon Sportswire - Getty Images“I just kind of lost grip and lost touch with Shane (van Gisbergen) and Tyler,” Blaney said about the first- and second-place finishers. “It was weird. I wasn’t really pushing hard like after the green flag pit stop with Tyler, knowing it was going to be a longer run.
“They (the tires) didn’t really fire off very good, and I stayed in touch with those guys for maybe five laps. They (tires) just kind of started to slowly lose and then really fall off the cliff.”
Briscoe’s Toyota Suffers Race’s Only Mechanical Failure
Chase Briscoe was the only driver eliminated from the DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix, having to settle for a last-place finish in the 37-car field after completing 62 of the 95 laps.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBriscoe, who’s 27th in the driver standings after three NASCAR Cup races, said something in his Toyota’s transaxle broke as he exited a corner.
“Went to shift and it was like I was in neutral and it was trying to spin the one side and not the other,” Briscoe said. “Just frustrating.”
Keselowski Completes COTA Event
Brad Keselowski, who broke his leg in December while on a snow skiing trip with his family, had Ford factory driver Joey Hand standing by in his pit in case he needed relief at Circuit of the Americas but the RFK Racing co-owner never called on him. Keselowski, who has said it will take six months for his leg to heal, finished 20th on the lead lap in the season’s first road course race.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“We weren’t as fast as we wanted to be, so it turned into a don’t beat yourself day,” said Keselowski, who walks with a cane. “Glad it’s over. Not the day we wanted to have … but we have something we can move forward with, and I’m trying to appreciate that.”
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